Blooms in December? by Betsy Washington

Have you convinced yourself that fragrant blooms in your garden are only a memory of summer past? Not so! ‘

Winter Sun’ Mahonia or Oregon Grape Holly bursts into bloom in late fall with tall, showy spikes of yellow flowers, looking for all the world like yellow candelabras or bursting fireworks rising above dark green spiny foliage. Hybrid mahonias, such as ‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Charity’, typically begin blooming in mid November and often continue into January, with slightly fragrant, bell-like flowers – lighting up your garden, just when you need the most.

Mahonias are easy to grow in shade planted in a sheltered location protected from cold winter wind and sun. Hybrid Mahonias can reach 8 or 10′ in height and look best planted in groups of 3 or more and their dark green spiny foliage adds a bit of drama to shady borders.

Try adding some ‘Winter Sun‘ to your garden next spring and brighten your early winter days.

Posted via email from LakeBarcroft

Related articles by Zemanta

• Focus on dramatic fall crocus (thestar.com)
• Plant Mahonias to attract hummingbirds to your garden (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Tags: Garden, Mahonia, Oregon-grape

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 9:56 am and is filed under Garden, General Interest, Nature, lake barcroft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.